Investigation of the Psychosocial Factors Affecting High Risk Driving Behaviors in Adolescents in the City of Tehran, 2014
Journal Title: Health in Emergencies & Disasters Quarterly - Year 2017, Vol 3, Issue 1
Abstract
Background: Driving accidents are among the most important causes of mortality in the world in recent years. In Iran, especially in major cities such as Tehran, this issue has become a prevalent social problem. More importantly, adolescents and young people constitute the majority of the victims of traffic accidents. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the psychosocial dimensions affecting high risk driving behaviors in adolescents in the age group between 12 to 17 years, in the city of Tehran. Materials and Methods: The present study has taken a quantitative (correlation) approach by selecting a sample of 537 adolescents aged between 12 to 17 years and the psychosocial factors affecting high risk driving behaviors were assessed. The samples were selected by a Stratified-cluster method from the insurance company, hospitals and education correctional centers. Results: Our study demonstrate that among psychological factors, three determinants, namely national religious identity, attitude toward laws and rules, and aggression were able to predict high risk behaviors in boys group with coefficient of B, 0.24, and 0.16, respectively; while the strongest predictor of high risk behavior is national religious identity. On the other hand, in the girls’ group, two factors, namely autocratic parenting and attitude toward law and rules were able to predict high risk behaviors with coefficients of B, 0.19, and 0.18, respectively; while the strongest predictor was the autocratic style of parenting. Among social factors, our findings show that participation in the plan to cooperate with traffic police with coefficients of Beta 0.26 and 0.21, respectively, is the strongest predictor of high risk behavior in adolescent boys and girls. Conclusion: Among predictor variables aggression, law breaking behavior, and national religious identity can better predict driving accidents, attitude toward law, and high risk behaviors. Aggression, attitude, and law breaking behavior are considered as abnormal behaviors that lead to legal problems, delinquencies, substance abuse and other destructive behaviors among adolescents and consequently cause damage, injury and disabilities in themselves and others. Moreover, involvement in aggressive behaviors can play a critical role in creating and exacerbating new behavioral problems in adolescents, and those problems are carried over immutably at the later stages of their life.
Authors and Affiliations
Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Javadi, Siyamak Tahmasebi, Taherh Azari Arghun, Forugh Edrisi, Esmaeil Soltani, Sa'adollah Hashemi, Alirza Tajlili, Nader Rahmani
Awareness of Medical Students of Gonabad University About Nutrition and Food Preservation in Disasters
Background: Healthy and hygienic foods should be available for healthy life of humans in all circumstances. This issue will be more important when a disaster occurrs. Iran is among high risk natural disaster countries, t...
The Relationship Between Quality of Work Life and Organizational Commitment of Iranian Emergency Nurses
Background: Quality of work life depends on a combination of variables in the work environment that has an important impact on organizational commitment, work participation, and job performance. Therefore, measuring two...
Study on the Awareness of the Students of Azad University of Medical Sciences About Nutrition and Food Storing Stuff During Crisis
Background: Consumption of healthy and hygienic foods is imperative to live a healthy life. This issue is of greater importance when obtaining foodstuff is relatively tough. The countries prone to natural disasters shoul...
Comparing Shiraz and Kerman High School Students' Knowledge for an Earthquake Encountering
Background: Many cities such as Tehran, Tabriz, Rudbar, Manjil, Tabas, Lar, Qazvin, Zanjan, Hamadan, and Kermanshah are prone to damages and losses caused by the earthquake. The occurrence of an earthquake can lead to th...
Letter to the Editor: Application of Haddon Matrix in Disaster Management: A New Window in Disaster Mitigation Risk
In recent years, disaster management has been the focus of attention since disasters have been associated with huge destructions and consequences. Basically, disaster management techniques aim at the prevention and mitig...